Who is Alvaro Arbeloa, Real Madrid’s new coach following Xabi Alonso’s sudden exit

Real Madrid have appointed former defender Alvaro Arbeloa as their new head coach after Xabi Alonso stepped down from the role on Monday. Alonso’s exit comes just seven months into his tenure and a day after Madrid lost 3-2 to arch-rivals Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final in Jeddah.

The club said in an official statement that the decision to part ways with Alonso was taken by mutual agreement. Real Madrid thanked the former midfielder for his work and said he would always be remembered as a club legend.

Alonso had taken over as head coach in May last year after Carlo Ancelotti left to take charge of the Brazil national team. However, his short stint ended after a difficult start to the season and the recent defeat in the Super Cup.

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Who is Alvaro Arbeloa?

Soon after Alonso’s departure, Real Madrid announced Arbeloa as his replacement. The former right-back had been coaching the club’s B team, Castilla, since June last year and has also worked extensively within Madrid’s youth academy. The upcoming Copa del Rey match against Albacete on Wednesday will be Arbeloa’s first game in charge of the senior team.

Arbeloa is no stranger to Real Madrid. He joined the club’s Castilla academy in 2001 at the age of 18 after starting his football journey at Zaragoza. He made his senior debut for Madrid in 2004 but featured in only four matches before moving to Deportivo La Coruna, a second-tier Spanish team.

In January 2007, Arbeloa joined Liverpool, where he spent three seasons in the Premier League. He returned to Real Madrid in 2009 and remained at the club until 2016. During this period, he made 238 appearances and won eight trophies, including one La Liga title, one Club World Cup, two Champions League titles and two Copa del Rey trophies.

At the international level, Arbeloa represented Spain 56 times and was part of the golden generation that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European Championships under captain Iker Casillas.

He retired from professional football in 2017 after a short spell with West Ham United and soon turned to coaching. Arbeloa joined Real Madrid’s academy in 2020 and took up different roles across age groups. His biggest success as a youth coach came in the 2022-23 season, when he guided the Juvenil A (under-19) team to a historic domestic treble, a first for the club.

“He coached the Under-14s A in the 2020-2021 season, winning the league title, the Under-16s in the 2021-2022 season and the Under-19s from 2022 to 2025. As coach of the Under-19s, he won the treble in the 2022-2023 season (League, Copa del Rey and Champions Cup) and the League in the 2024-2025 season,” Read Madrid statement read.

Ahead of the 2025-26 season, he replaced club legend Raul as the head coach of Castilla. In 19 matches in charge of the B team, Arbeloa recorded 10 wins, one draw and nine defeats.